Paying 10k / month in rent as a VP??

Hi I’m wondering if VPs can typically afford to rent a 10k a month apartment in NYC? 
 

A first year VP in my group recently stated to us that he pays 10k per month on rent. We’re at a lmm bank and I heard this level usually gets around 200k base and 100k bonus per year. VP also stated he is single, no other income.
 

I am trying to do the math to see how this would be affordable, but I am not sure.

 

It's steep but not insane. Rent typically is 25-30% of your income so they are certainly paying for a premium at 40%. However, you do not know how well they budget other expenses and if housing is where they splurge.

 

That’s wild. The associates in my group typically make around that and most of us are renting a 3-4k/month apartment. 

 

Hey man to each their own. Yes, that’s definitely quite high as a percentage of income but not completely insane. That’s somewhere around 200k net, so it would be around 50% towards rent.
 

For context, I made about 160k as an a1 and netted around 95, and spent about 40% of that towards my rent. I also spent about 30k on dining, drinks and other fun stuff, so saved about 20-30k. 

 

That actually sounds insane. A new first year VP hasn’t even gotten his bonus yet, which isn’t necessarily always the same every year, so he’s really just on 200k base salary 

 

VP3 - it's insane to use your bonus portion of comp to budget for day-to-day expenses like rent.  My base is $275k, after tax, insurance, and maxing out my 401k, I make about $13k a month in NYC.  $6k of that goes to rent but I get one month free at end of lease so more like $5.6k.  I get a cleaner twice a month and that costs me around $300, power maybe another $200, parking is like $625 which is a nice luxury.  So my total all-in on housing on a net basis is around $6.8k.  I would consider my rent/housing expenditure middle of the road; neither frugal nor lavish.  I pay for a small two bedroom in a nice area of Brooklyn and use the second bedroom as an office.

 

VP3 - it's insane to use your bonus portion of comp to budget for day-to-day expenses like rent.  My base is $275k, after tax, insurance, and maxing out my 401k, I make about $13k a month in NYC.  $6k of that goes to rent but I get one month free at end of lease so more like $5.6k.  I get a cleaner twice a month and that costs me around $300, power maybe another $200, parking is like $625 which is a nice luxury.  So my total all-in on housing on a net basis is around $6.8k.  I would consider my rent/housing expenditure middle of the road; neither frugal nor lavish.  I pay for a small two bedroom in a nice area of Brooklyn and use the second bedroom as an office.

You have parking in your building?

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I met a guy in IB in NYC and he was a VP at the time and said his rent was $9,800 per month. This guy also owned a restaurant / wine bar and he laughingly said he got $10K per month from the restaurant "to cover his rent." Most of the staff was well trained and he just had to supervise for a few hours every couple days. It was a booming / trendy place. I met him at the restaurant. He was good friends with my friend so we talked over the course of a couple hours and I learned all the details. Lucky SOB. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Smoke Frog

Some people don’t have losers for parents, they have successful ones that continue to help them through life. Don’t project your crappy financial situation on your VP just cause your family can’t help.

What a terrible take. Shame on you.

Array
 

No - an annual base salary of $200k while being single would not support monthly rental expenses of $10k. Even with $100k bonus expectations that would still be irresponsible.

You should not be renting based on what your expected all in comp could be if you haven’t received that amount given that in some years, bonuses could vary and be lower than in other years.

 

Then his income would be much higher than 300k and would be able to afford that, but my response was assuming OPs VP was not in that category, as the original post states no other income

 
Most Helpful

I do not understand how some one could be spend such large monthly rent for an apartment, which many seem to be small in New York.
 

I can see the rent can be covered by his stream of income, which is good.
 

From my calculation, the VP will likely not have much savings left over for other costs like food and vacation based on his base salary. I am wonder if people can take on other job like driving for the Uber on the weekends or working at a chick-fil-a

 
frenchcameroon

I do not understand how some one could be spend such large monthly rent for an apartment, which many seem to be small in New York.
 

I can see the rent can be covered by his stream of income, which is good.
 

From my calculation, the VP will likely not have much savings left over for other costs like food and vacation based on his base salary. I am wonder if people can take on other job like driving for the Uber on the weekends or working at a chick-fil-a

Yeah these days if you want to get a part time job for supplemental income, there are good options available for you. A few years ago, before I started my analyst job, I was a tutor for exam prep programs and I also taught Spanish courses online given that it is my native language. 

 

It's pretty crazy how nyc rent prices are this high, and even crazier that people on 200k base will spend that much on rent.

Yes, your VPs salary does in fact cover the rent expenses, but he is completely irresponsible and lacks sound judgement regardless - I would want to ask how he even think of this idea to begin with, but he would likely struggle to come up with a coherent response

 

I pay ~8.5k / month. Planning on buying soon, though. Having a girlfriend in a non-volatile-comp career that guarantees several hundred 000 of guaranteed income (for ex: my HF base is 150-200k, and her all in come is comfortably 250-300k, which is more than enough to cover a big rent/mortgage, therefore my HF bonus is entirely incremental)

Think that’s the most stress-free way to think about it.

 

At OP, I have a saying "people will tell you what they have, but not how they go it', meaning, there are multiple ways to obtain items; buying it with money you earn, getting it as a gift, getting inheritance, having a second job. People won't tell you they get money from their relatives or inheritance, but they will tell you about their luxury apartment, just how it works. 

Moral is, don't compare yourself to others. A number of games I play in my head (how my friends afford their lifestyle, how this business stays solvent, where people draw the line) it is interesting how people use their money or obtain things; but that's why we have a lot of people in debt in this country. Que the Paul Bettany Margin call explanation. 

 

Maybe times have changed, but when I was in NYC brokers/landlords would not work with you unless you could prove you made 30x times the rent of whatever you were looking at, or had a guarantor that makes 150x. 

nicole
 
Nicole112

Maybe times have changed, but when I was in NYC brokers/landlords would not work with you unless you could prove you made 30x times the rent of whatever you were looking at, or had a guarantor that makes 150x. 

Once you have few years of w2 nobody just looks at base bc it quickly becomes ridiculous when you make 700-800k with 250-300k bases and can't afford anything. I speak from experience having recently looked for apts and every single landlord was fine except one who asked a question and then was also fine 

 

Lol why did this comment get MS? Maybe your post should've said something like:

"Oo wow, your VP sounds so smart for doing that, he should get a pay raise for his decisions"

 

NYC can be pretty pricey, but with a base of 200k and a 100k bonus, it's technically doable. The key is budgeting and making sure you're not overspending in other areas. Plus, being single can make it more manageable since you don't have to worry about sharing expenses.

 

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